A Christmas Carol
By Charles Dickens
Lesson plan
Step 1
Students are getting into the classroom, Christmas music’s on (Jingle bells)
Today, we’ll talk about Christmas.
For a warm up, we do a crossword puzzle. The students are divided into two
groups, one group is doing down, the other across, interchangeably. They
have 10 sec to find the answer, if they don’t know, the other group will try.
They get points.
1
2
3
3 People ________ presents on Christmas
morning.
4
5
Across
4 People ________ friends and relatives
on the phone.
6
5 People ________ skiing, skating,
and snowboarding.
7
8
6 Frost ________ the window.
9
8 People ________ Christmas trees.
10
13
14
11
12
15
17
16
9 We ________ you a merry Christmas.
10 Santa ________ presents on Christmas
Eve.
18
13 People ________ under the mistletoe.
19
20
21
15 People ________ ribbons around
presents.
22
16 People ________ the presents under the
tree.
23
24
17 Santa ________ a red suit.
19 Children ________ stockings by the
fire.
20 Children ________ snowmen.
23 Santa ________ the stockings with
chocolates and toys.
24 Reindeer ________ Santa's sleigh.
Down
1 Snow ________ from the sky.
2 People ________ Christmas on
December 25th.
4 Santa ________ his list.
5 People ________ presents to each other.
7 People ________ cards in the mail.
8 People ________ eggnog and hot
chocolate.
9 Children ________ letters to Santa.
11 Santa ________ cookies on Christmas
Eve.
12 Children ________ on
Santa's lap.
14 People ________ carols.
16 You shouldn't ________ at
your present before
Christmas morning.
18 Bells ________.
19 Children ________
snowball fights.
21 Santa ________ children
what they want for
Christmas.
22 People ________ the
present before you give it
to someone.
23 Reindeer ________ in the
sky.
They write some of the vocabulary in their notebooks.
(10 min)
Step 2
Tell your students to close their eyes and try to remember the time when
they were little kids; if they liked Christmas, who did they decorate the
Christmas tree with, any funny moments, anecdotes, etc. Then you say they
are going to write down the answers to a couple of questions. Here they are:
1. your favorite toy when you were kid
2. your favorite book, movie or music group
3. your favorite candy
4. three adjectives to describe yourself + write boy/girl
5. three funniest things you said or did when you were little
6. your favorite food and drink
7. your nickname
When they finish this, display this letter to Santa on a projector and ask
students to fill the blanks with their answers, and rewrite the letter.
Dear Santa Claus,
Christmas is coming and I am looking forward to your visit. This
year, I would like many things for Christmas:
First of all, ______________________________________
As well, __________________________________________
Finally, __________________________________________
I have been a good ________ this year, so I think I deserve
these presents. Three good things I have done are:
(1) ______________________________________________
(2) _____________________________________________
(3) _____________________________________________
When you come down the chimney, please look in the kitchen. I
am going to leave ________ and ________ on the table for you
to have. Thank you Santa, I am very excited.
Signed _________________
(12-15 min)

Step 3
Write A Christmas Carol on the BB and ask students if they know what it is.
A short introduction about Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol
(7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870)
Oliver Twist
Great Expectations
David Copperfield
Tell students that you are going to read them a short summary of A
Christmas Carol, but before that you are going to give them some words and
chunks of sentences that they will have to put into the right places as you
read the summary.
Here is the list of the words:
miserly old man
heating coals
pays his uncle a visit and
bitterness and venom,
"Merry Christmas!"
dark, cold apartment,
chilling visitation
haggard and pallid,
wander the Earth
heavy chains.
the Ghost of Christmas Past,
lust for money
sheds tears of regret
The Ghost of Christmas Present,
a miniature feast
Ignorance and Want,
dark, hooded figure
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
to learn the lesson
implores the spirit to alter his fate,
honors Christmas with all his heart:
kindness, generosity, and warmth.
Safely tucked in his bed
Drop by
Sharing the same fate
When you have given the papers with the words and expressions on them,
you start reading the story (before that, as you give each piece of paper,
explain all the unknown vocabulary, and students write that in their
notebooks)
A mean-spirited, miserly old man named Ebenezer Scrooge sits in his counting-house on
a frigid Christmas Eve. His clerk, Bob Cratchit, shivers in the anteroom because Scrooge
refuses to spend money on heating coals for a fire. Scrooge's nephew, Fred, pays his
uncle a visit and invites him to his annual Christmas party. Two portly gentlemen also
drop by and ask Scrooge for a contribution to their charity. Scrooge reacts to the
holiday visitors with bitterness and venom, spitting out an angry "Bah! Humbug!" in
response to his nephew's "Merry Christmas!"
Later that evening, after returning to his dark, cold apartment, Scrooge receives a
chilling visitation from the ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Marley. Marley, looking
haggard and pallid, relates his unfortunate story. As punishment for his greedy and selfserving life his spirit has been condemned to wander the Earth weighted down with
heavy chains. Marley hopes to save Scrooge from sharing the same fate. Marley informs
Scrooge that three spirits will visit him during each of the next three nights. After the
wraith disappears, Scrooge collapses into a deep sleep.
He wakes moments before the arrival of the Ghost of Christmas Past, a strange childlike
phantom with a brightly glowing head. The spirit escorts Scrooge on a journey into the
past to previous Christmases from the curmudgeon's earlier years. Invisible to those he
watches, Scrooge revisits his childhood school days, his apprenticeship with a jolly
merchant named Fezziwig, and his engagement to Belle, a woman who leaves Scrooge
because his lust for money eclipses his ability to love another. Scrooge, deeply moved,
sheds tears of regret before the phantom returns him to his bed.
The Ghost of Christmas Present, a majestic giant clad in a green fur robe, takes Scrooge
through London to unveil Christmas as it will happen that year. Scrooge watches the
large, bustling Cratchit family prepare a miniature feast in its meager home. He
discovers Bob Cratchit's crippled son, Tiny Tim, a courageous boy whose kindness and
humility warms Scrooge's heart. The specter then zips Scrooge to his nephew's to
witness the Christmas party. Scrooge finds the jovial gathering delightful and pleads
with the spirit to stay until the very end of the festivities. As the day passes, the spirit
ages, becoming noticeably older. Toward the end of the day, he shows Scrooge two
starved children, Ignorance and Want, living under his coat. He vanishes instantly as
Scrooge notices a dark, hooded figure coming toward him.
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come leads Scrooge through a sequence of mysterious
scenes relating to an unnamed man's recent death. Scrooge sees businessmen
discussing the dead man's riches, some vagabonds trading his personal effects for cash,
and a poor couple expressing relief at the death of their unforgiving creditor. Scrooge,
anxious to learn the lesson of his latest visitor, begs to know the name of the dead man.
After pleading with the ghost, Scrooge finds himself in a churchyard, the spirit pointing
to a grave. Scrooge looks at the headstone and is shocked to read his own name. He
desperately implores the spirit to alter his fate, promising to renounce his insensitive,
avaricious ways and to honor Christmas with all his heart. Whoosh! He suddenly finds
himself safely tucked in his bed.
Overwhelmed with joy by the chance to redeem himself and grateful that he has been
returned to Christmas Day, Scrooge rushes out onto the street hoping to share his
newfound Christmas spirit. He sends a giant Christmas turkey to the Cratchit house and
attends Fred's party, to the stifled surprise of the other guests. As the years go by, he
holds true to his promise and honors Christmas with all his heart: he treats Tiny Tim as
if he were his own child, provides lavish gifts for the poor, and treats his fellow human
beings with kindness, generosity, and warmth.
(20 min)
Step 4
Ask the students if they would like to read the book, or watch the movie
(there are many versions of the movie).
You have prepared some clips from the 2009 animated movie, with Jim
Carrey, and you’re going to play these scenes. Before every scene, tell what
the scene is going to be and ask comprehension questions (they should know
the answers if they listened carefully to the summary you’d read to them).
(20 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGjFoM94wBw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFf4OEZNpmI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8LyVDC3vRA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1uOstuBef4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKLMWJRu4jI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkAtHnimFHY
* Arrange with students to watch the full movie (with English subtitles)